Quinn on Sabres, NHL lockout & Canalside

When I caught up with Larry Quinn at the downtown Starbucks, he was settled comfortably in a corner chair, wearing blue jeans and a green button-down, reading on his iPad.

He looked relaxed, laid back. Which is not how any of us picture Larry Quinn.

Buffalo has seen few, if any, business leaders in the last couple of decades who are as tenaciously motivated or accomplished as Quinn. He built the arena now known as First Niagara Center, ran the Sabres twice (the latter time as part owner under Tom Golisano), played a key role in Buffalo’s waterfront development, and over the course of a career that extends from his early 20s to his current age of 60, has built multiple buildings and offices in Western New York and beyond.

In early 2011, when Golisano sold the Sabres to Terry Pegula, Quinn exited the public scene. He cashed out his equity in the Sabres and left his position on the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp, which oversees Buffalo’s waterfront development.

He took time off to recover from a November 2010 heart surgery, spending time with his three grandchildren and traveling Europe, where he took a month of painting lessons in France.

He’s enjoying life, but as candid as ever in his opinions. And he has many. (Subscribers can read my full interview with Quinn by clicking here.)

Following are some highlights — and check back in this space next week, because there’s more to come:

• On Canalside: “The vision for Canalside that they have now is very different than what I had. Canalside, right now, is a very nice, very seasonal experience. I don’t see it as being a 12-month experience. I don’t see it as being the catalyst for a major movement of people into the city. As fun as it is, you’re talking thousands of people, not millions of people. What we were trying to do is get an anchor.

• On the Sabres’ planned HarborCenter ice-rink complex, which he refers to as “good” but not “great”: “It doesn’t have to be a home run. It can be a nice single.”

• On the mixed-use complex proposed by Carl Paladino for the same space that will be occupied by HarborCenter (the City of Buffalo chose the Sabres’ plan over Paladino’s): “They could have had both. I don’t think it needed to be an either-or situation.”

• On fans’ reactions to him: “Shortly after I left the Sabres I had to go to the Walden Galleria for something, and I ended up in the mall with a line of seven or eight people – I didn’t know any of them – who wanted to say thank you for helping the team. That was very gratifying.”

• On whether Pegula appreciates how Quinn and Golisano rebuilt and strengthened the Sabres franchise, which Golisano purchased out of bankruptcy: “Yeah, I do. I like Terry, and I think he does (appreciate it). I think Terry is a good guy.”

• On the NHL lockout: “I get the sense there’s no negotiating going on … I’m not unsympathetic to a lot of the players’ positions. But negotiate. There’s a middle ground there. Figure out what it is and start playing hockey.”